Saturday, October 29, 2005

yes...we're dorks!


yes...we're dorks!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[ale]

Happy halloween weekends everybody! As you can see, I love halloween. Got the woman to dress up as Zatanna, and I threw together my old bats! Hope you guys have a good weekend!

-a
"woot, woot!" PSHOO!PSHOO!

Friday, October 28, 2005

SNIKT!!!


SNIKT!!!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
(entry:Carlitos)

... I did this some months ago pretty much just for sh*ts and giggles (heheh, and with the intention of selling it at "San Diego Con" for some 'toy money' ...or 'beer money', whichever came first and both equally important! (^_^) )

It was one of those "gotta scratch that itch" kinda' things ... I LOOOOOVE Barry Windsor Smith's "Weapon X"!!! It's still is my favorite Wolverine story, so this was me kinda 'sorta' doing a "Weapon X" Wolvie.

I had originally done this in just 'black and white' line art, but it seemed a little flat, and I decided to do some 'ink washes' on it to make the figure 'pop' a little more, THEN, Scott Iwahashi, who must have been a little bored that day :), asked me if I'd let him do the ink-washes instead. ...HEY, this guy's a damn good painter, 'OF COURSE you can do the washes' I said! :) ...I love the subtleties he pulled off, specially on Logan's face ...I gotta' say, I've learned A LOT from that talented bastard in the short time he's been with us at the WS, so I give major major 'props' and thanks to Iwa' ! ..heheh, damn painters!!! :)

... as a 'side note': for any aspiring comic artist out there; It's always a very very good thing (and opportunity) to talk to artists that come from a different 'place' or 'discipline' (sculptors, painters, graphic designers, etc) Many of us can sometimes make the mistake of only learning from people in our 'area' of interest, in this case, COMICS!!! ...nothing wrong with this over the short-term, but long-term, IT WILL only HURT YOU!!! ..why?!? because the whole thing just becomes too 'incestuous,' and we all know how 'well' that works out (^_^)

I think our imagination is like our stomach, it will only work as well as you feed it, so don't be afraid of giving it a more 'balanced diet' of different kinds of art. Learn from anyone or anything, that's the only way you can make your art stand on it's own two legs, and not be a 'poor-man's' version of someone else's art and vision. :)

peace'

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Iron Gelato studio battle! 2-1!!!

Looks as if if going into our final week that Aspen will be one win behind! Surely if anyone could balance out the score Michael Turner is the man to do it! Jim will surely have his hands full! So make sure to stay tuned here for more info leading up to our grand main event, Michael Turner vs Jim Lee!!!

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Look what happens when I'm out...

[ale]

I was delighted and suprised to see what happened while I was out of town this weekend! Great job to both competitors! Looks like another close race! Wish I had been here to razz Rich while he did it, lol! A quick reminder, voting closes tomorrow at noon, so be sure to get all your votes in!

Posted above is a piece I did recently for a commission. It's huge! 22" x 17"!

It was a doozy, hope he'll enjoy it! I really dig drawing that Spidey guy with all his villians. So till tomorrow good luck to both contestants!

-a
"I'm octopussy larry" PSHOO!PSHOO!

Thursday, October 20, 2005

...Pizza and Hot Rods ... delicious!!!

(entry: Carlitos)

I had moved back to Texas for a little while a few years ago, and while I was there, my friends Eddie and Joe (old highschool buddies) were working at this pizza joint called "Double Daves' (more like a BAR that happens to sell pizza, it was GRRRRRREAT!!! :) ) ... anyway, I used to spend A LOT of my time there, it was pretty much the 'official hang-out', and they used to organize these small 'rock shows'.

I would sometimes 'volunteer' to do some of their posters and fliers (for the noblest of reasons, free drinks!!!). I have really good memories of that place, I think it eventually closed down 'cause the owner of that particular location was doing some 'shady' deals (it's a Texas franchise I believe).

...anyway, this drawing here was for one of those 'mini-concerts'. I had colored it and added text and all that, but can't find that damn file. Some of the local 'hot rod' clubs were invited there to show off their muscle cars, hence the Rod ...uhhh, and I think the bands invited were mostly Rockabilly, hence to 'pompadour' (^_^)

ahhh, the good ole' days at the Double D's ... I REALLY miss this hard-cider they used to have called 'woodchuck' ...good stuff, good stuff

... anybody from Texas gone to the Double D's on here?!?

oops, i killed a gang of ninjas...

[ale]

Hey guys, just wanted to drop some quick notes. First off, I forgot earlier, but I'd like to thank Mark Walters for having me out for the Dallas show. My wife and I had a blast! And we both really appreciate it! Second, I just received some notes from our last Iron Chef challenger, and winner, Koi Turnbull. Here's what he had to say:

"Thanks for all the support and kind words. Carlos did an awesome piece and his Darkseid was amazing. It was a shock and an honor to find out I won and a great big thank you goes out to all the fans and the Iron Chef crew! Can't wait for the next one!"

Third, I need a halloween costume idea! So I'd thought I'd let you the fans give me some pointers. Try to remember, I do make one sexxy chick! Lol! Serious though, gimme some sugg's! Fourth, Rich Friend is cool! Fifth, I miss Jim, especially his video games :P!

So that's about it! Posted above is a little Spidey I did for a fan in Dallas. Went a little different from what I normally do. A bit thinner, eyes a bit smaller. Nuff said!

-a
PSHOO!PSHOO!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

SNNAAAAAAAKE!!!


SNNAAAAAAAKE!!!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
(entry: Carlitos)

...here's a bit of a close-up of that 'Solid Snake' piece I posted yesterday, since the previous scan was fairly small and someone made the good point that 'Snake's' face looked less defined in the 'new version' (which I agree with, judging from that particular image)

...so here's this one, that way you can see a bit more of the work that went into his face and torso area.

Someone had also asked if this piece was 'available', and the answer is , so far, yes! :) ...I am just now starting to make some of the work I've done available online over at: ComicArtFans.com, so go check it out and help out my "I-need-to-buy-new-toys-fund" ..heheheh :)

peace'

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

"old new stuff" ...uhhh, or something like that...

(entry: Carlitos)

...I was going though one of my 'old art' boxes recently, and I 'rediscovered' this lil' piece I did back when the first "METAL GEAR SOLID' game came out for the 'PS1' (geeez, at least six or seven years ago, or longer?). I can't remember exactly what magazine this was used for, but I kinda' remember it being for "Game Pro", or "Game Fan", maybe?...I don't know, one of those gaming magz.

...anyway, I was bored and decided to practice some 'washes' on an old piece, and at the same time, try and bring some of my 'newer sensibilities' into it. :)

...the original piece had been penciled by me, and inked my Mark Irwin, one of my old buddies from WS (very very good brush inker), BUT for this particular 'experiment', I wanted to go back in and 'roughen' it up a little bit, (Mark is very clean and slick) so I went back and re-inked some parts as well to make it look a little 'sketchier'.

Getting to draw 'Solid Snake' when this game was first coming out again was awesome, and kinda 'intimidating' since I really liked the character, AND I knew Travis Charest was doing work for it as well (hell of a 'shadow' if you ask me :) ), but tons of fun, regardless...in hindsight, I wish I would have done something 'dirtier-looking' for this piece though, and this 're-working' was sorta' my attempt to do that...oh well, 'learn and move on' I say (^_^)

...now the question is, which one do you all like better?

Monday, October 17, 2005

I'm back b!@#e$!!!


I'm back b!@#e$!!!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[ale]

I'm back and trying to get a little bit of rest before I finish up this month. Dallas was a blast! Got to hang with some good friends, Mark Brooks, and Cliff Chiang. We were the three of the comic book artist draws, I guess. It was fun though! From the store signing at Comic Asylum, Mark Hay's store, to meeting some great fans, and having dinner with Kenny (r2d2) Baker, everything was really cool! Also wanted to give a shout out to Joe for driving us around and making the city of Dallas accessible to me and my wife, thanks yo! So, back to the grind, get some work done!

Above is a doodle I did over dinner for one of the guys helping out at the show's son. Medium of choice: blue crayon, red crayon, yellow crayon, all on a paper table cloth!

-a

PSHOO!PSHOO!

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Jetting today...


Jetting today...
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
[jimlee]

Traveling further east today, over the Atlantic in preparation for the Frankfurt Book Fair next weekend. A working trip, I will be once again back in Studio Gioco Duro with my studiomates italiani Lee "Hellboy" Bermejo and Cammo "Captain Atom" Comeondaiyoucan. It's only 9 hours from JFK and I will be snoozing all the way or checking out my new PSP which I just bought for the trip.

In the meantime, here is a file I found on my laptop--it's a sample of the kind of cover layouts I do. This time it was for the All-Star Wizard jam cover I did with Frank Quitely. I laid out the cover and then he did All-Star Superman and I did Batman. The two images were then composited by the magicians at Wizard to produce the cover which came out just several months ago. BTW, they went with layout C. If you were an editor, what would you have run with?

Friday, October 14, 2005

Midtown Madness!


Midtown Madness!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
(jimlee)

Here I am at 40th and 7th at Midtown comics and it's pouring. But still the first fans were here 6 hours ago and the line extends down to 8th Ave. I really expected a muted turnout cause of the inclement weather but I guess nothing stops the incredible fans our small business is blessed with. Great store...even greater people and fans. More later after...

Store Signing at Midtown Comics Today

[jimlee]

Just a quick note for those in the NYC area, I will be at Midtown Comics (Times Square) from 5-7pm tonight signing anything and everything. Shake hands at your own risk...I'm fighting off a very bad cold--damn NY cold and rainy weather! Apparently Crisis #1 shipped this week. Curious to read it; the reaction has been pretty positive; even read 'Best Comic Ever' type stuff. Only thing is I know how the story goes...= D

I'm out yo!

I'm out yo! Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[ale]

Hey guys, I'm heading out to Dallas in the morn'. Rich, you and Carlos behave, no fighting! I'm looking forward to meeting any of you who may show up at the Expo. I know I'll have fun just because I know Mark'll (Brooks) be there, and he's fun to tease, lol! So, once again, great challenge, Rich lovely pics! And Carlos stop looking at monkeys! Peace out yo's!

-a
"my blood hurts" PSHOO!PSHOO!

Thursday, October 13, 2005

... the shame, the shame I tell you!!!

(entry: Carlitos)

heheheh ... man o' man, I knew this whole 'undefeated' thing was lasting too damn long! :) ...awesome job Koi, it was an honor 'battling' you, AND getting my butt kicked in the process! (^_^)

... I gotta say, 'Darkseid' came out of my head in two seconds flat, BUT the friggin' Surfer didn't want to cooperate from the get-go.

I must have drawn the little silver-bastard a good three or four times, and made the HUGE HUGE mistake of 'leaving' him 'till the end, hoping something better would come out then, and THAT my friends, was a pretty dumb idea! ...why? because at the end, my brain was already FRIED from inking 'Darkseid' (not to mention out of time, since filling in the blacks took it's sweet time) ....so in a desperate attempt to finish the piece, I laid out a 'Silver Surfer' ala' MOEBIUS, just standing there on his board, and looking '"too powerful to bother getting in a battle-stance!!!" ...that was the idea anyway, I'm not sure if I 'quite' pulled it off. :) ...then Alé brought up the good point (after the fact, damn you!!! :) ) that most people are much more familiar with Kirby's and Buscema's (or Ron Lim's) Silver Surfer's attitude, which is totally different than Moebius'.

...anyway, the lesson of the day was; "drawing TWO character fighting, in ONE hour, is DAMN hard!!!", I'm pretty sure Koi knows what I'm talking about .... it just takes it out of ya'. I feel more 'tired' after drawing one of these mo'fos than I do after drawing a whole page!!! no lie, it's not 'how much' you draw, but 'the speed' at which you have to do it that just draaaaains you!!!

good battle Mr. Turnbull, good battle. (^_^)

Carlitos.

Iron Chef results: Round 2!!!

Wow, what a contest we have going! Koi brought it on, and evened out the score! Who knows if we end this thing in a stalemate we may have to do a royal rumble battle for all the marbles! Everyone versus everyone! Way to go Koi, and congratulations! I had a feeling Koi would be a challenge and he definitely rose to the challenge! So make sure to check back in a bout 2 weeks for round 3!!!

Wildstorm: 1
Aspen: 1

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

.... definitely!!!

.... definitely!!! Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
(entry: S. Iwahashi)

The attached image in this post was created a while back before I came on as a staff artist. Jim wanted me to do my rendition of the Gen13 characters. It was a great deal of fun and I took the opportunity to play with the way I was drawing things and what I was choosing to emphasize. I was also attempting to get a better handle on the way that Jim composes things versus my own process.

Previously, I tended to use abstract shapes to create compositions that led to my reads whereas Jim's route seemed far more direct because, as I see it, he composes around his reads. Its the difference between using another object or gesture to point to say the faces of the characters versus using the characters faces as the actual objects/gesture itself. I definitely took a lot away from the experience and my work has definitely changed as a result.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Iron Gelatomettista: Carlos D'anda

Vote for Carlos' entry here!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenger: Koi Turnbull!

Vote for Koi's entry here!

Iron Gelatometti Battle! Carlos D'anda vs Koi Turnbull!

Here are our two entries side by side! Both came out quite amazing for the time given to these two dedicated competitors!

Iron Gelatometti Battle! Carlos D'anda vs Koi Turnbull!

All right boys and girls, make sure to post your suggestions here! The battle will start a little late today. It will run from 2:30-3:30 pst! So act now and get your suggestions in!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenger: Koi Turnbull!

Today's challenger is Aspen's very own Koi Turnbull! For our second round battle, Koi will challenge Iron Chef Carlos D'anda! Surely this battle will go down as a knock down drag out slug-o-rama! Make sure to check out Koi's work on Fathom, released by Aspen comics!

Sunday, October 09, 2005

I'm open!


I'm open!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[ale]

Thought I'd comment on tomorrow night's showdown! The hometown Chargers vs. my team, the Steelers! Now I'm not one to make predictions, but..... I think my boys are gonna take this one! Not only are they practically perfect on monday nights, but they'll have The Bus, and Deuce back! Sadly though however, living in San Diego as long as I have, the Chargers have become my second favorite team. I even got to meet Ladanian Tomlinson at the local Applebees, lol! It was kinda funny because he wasn't even getting any special treatment. I mean here's arguably the best running back in the NFL, and he's outside of Applebee's waiting to be seated alongside me! He was very cool, very humble, great guy! So for me tomorrow night's going to be a BLAST!

Some other updates... We may be moving our next Iron Chef up a day. Not sure yet but just maybe. I'll post tomorrow just to confirm. Also I'm going to be bringing a new Chef into the forray for our third battle. Should have the announcement soon! Other than that, hope all is well, peace!

-a
"that's the spirit..." PSHOO!PSHOO!

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Keeping suit w/Rich...


Keeping suit w/Rich...
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[ale]

Wanted to keep up on Rich's previous post. We need to be giving more love to the books we're putting out. I wanted to give a little notice to another recently released, phenomonal looking book, Wildsiderz! Jeff has always been an amazing artist, and he just continues to top himself with his latest venture! Both he and Andy Hartnell are crafting a breath of fresh air in comics with this new title! Being an artist I just wanted to comment on some of the mind numbing stuff I see Jeff doing. It's fantastic! And a treat to see comics like this coming out!

This and the previously mentioned Wraithborn, are exactly the kinda books I get excited to see! I'm not gonna say that I don't enjoy some of the books with the art going more towards the realistic side these days. But for me, I love books like these! Books that capture all the imagination, creativity, and originality that can be achieved through comics! I can only hope my soon to be released ditty will be half as good. So hats off to both Jeff, and Joe, I look forward to the future issues of both these titles. And to you the fans, and maybe some of you who may even be retailers, show these books some love, and give em a nice push :)

-a
"i'm a boy" PSHOO!PSHOO!

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Something New/Old


Something New/Old
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
(entry: Scott Iwahashi)

Attached is the tryout image I sent to Wildstorm before initially getting work. I was asked to depict Zealot and Warblade and given free reign from there. Posting this old image, ironically, marks a new shift in my work. After getting a taste of penciling, I have really come to realize I am not suited for it.

That isn't to say I'm not suited to drawing, but that my process is far more nebulous. To compartmentalize my thought process into penciling, inking and coloring is counter-intuitive to me. When I create an image I think about the finished printed page and as a result the amount of penciling, inking and coloring I will do varies tremendously.

My perspective on comic book art is that every step should plus the last. In many cases, when I see the finished linework of someone like Michael Golden I feel that color is superfluous. It might separate objects from one another more, but it can also lose the depth, contours and gesture accomplished in line.

For that, at any given stage beside the final product, my work doesn't look complete. My pencils don't look finished, my inks look simple, but once the color is added the entire piece comes together in a way that incorporates every part and hopefully, rounds out the product. When I attempted to pencil, I couldn't fully separate penciling from inking and inking from coloring to get a sense of the leeway that each step requires. In that way, I feel that there were missteps as well as achievements that forced me to really reevaluate where my work should go.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Skye Runner exclusives! Glyph!

[ale]

GLYPH…is a vigilante alchemist carrying specially designed God-hunting weaponry and numerous pouches and vials filled with powerful potions. After his family was killed by a shadowy stranger and an erratic-acting God, he asked the council for permission to seek revenge, but was denied due to fear of a backlash, and apathy. Traditionally his people keep to themselves, and avoid getting involved in human affairs. Glyph was furious with their uncaring attitude and left his world forever to live amongst the humans, who look down on him like he’s trash. He makes his living trapping Gods and hunting their hideous offspring as he searches for the shadowy stranger and vengeance against the Gods.

[ale's notes]

Glyph for me is perhaps one of the most exciting characters Allen and I have ever came up with! I tried to capture all the elements of characters like Wolverine, Batman, and Grifter, and put them all in one little package, no pun intended, lol! Seriously though I think you guys are gonna really enjoy this little guy!

So there you have it. The image completed! This first set of exclusives have been a blast! I'm so glad I can share with you all the growth experience involved in the process of creating a comic. Over the next few months the exclusives will hopefully get more exciting! As not only I, but also look for Rich, Jim, and Allen to chime in on their thoughts about this little book called Skye Runner! Expect contests, quicktime clips, and a lot more art, all to what will hopefully get you all excited for what I'm hoping is to be one of the biggest releases of next year, Skye Runner #1!!!